Americans sent more than 28 billion text messages per month as of June 2007, according to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.

While this could be viewed as an increase in communication, it’s more likely that many of these were sent in lieu of other kinds of contact, not in addition.

People are cutting off human-to-human communication in favor of the more impersonal option of pushing buttons on a device they can hold in their hand. They don’t need to leave their apartments or even beds to ask friends “What’s up 2nite?”

In the past, getting a “wish you were here” postcard from a vacationing relative was the epitome of detached communication. Now, simply taking the time to put pen to paper and write out an address in full is something reserved for only the most momentous occasions.

I attribute the texting phenomenon to a combination of laziness and Americans’ dwindling sense of communal activity.

With one device, people can make phone calls, send text messages, manage their datebooks and take photos – whenever they want. Add to this that they can do it without needing to leave their homes, and there’s a recipe for the death of human interaction.

I’m not a primitivist denouncing the advancement of technology. Obviously, there are merits to the simple and instantaneous nature of sending text messages. Messages meant to be brief and impersonal are fine when sent in the brief and impersonal medium. But if people are opting to text their feelings to someone instead of seeing them in person, then the problem begins.

I’m sure there were people who said the same thing about cell phones, e-mail and Facebook.com, all forms of instant messaging and all new forms of communication. And maybe they were a little bit right. In our society where we don’t know how to take things in moderation, when we revamp communication, we do it in full force.

A line needs to be drawn somewhere. My concern is if we continue on this path of fleeting forms of contact, a personal sense of community will be lost and there will be no going back.

Matt Flint is the arts and culture reporter. E-mail him at flintmat@msu.edu.